Ashes
by BizarreSerenity
Summary: Korra discovers that things are easier said than done. Amorra, AmonxKorra. Rated M for a reason.


"Come now, Avatar." Amon persuaded, his voice smooth and soft like raw silk. "I can't untie you if you won't eat."

Shame welled up within her as Korra struggled against her bonds, trying to somehow turn away from the Equalist leader who sat before her, legs folded neatly beneath him. The manacles clamped around her wrists chafed her skin, and she struggled to move, to edge her way around the wooden post she was bound to.

Dizziness flooded into her the moment she struggled, stabs of hunger following soon after. Amon had been keeping her there in that room for days, bringing with him food and water twice a day, coaxing her to eat.

She had rebelled each and every time, refusing his offerings, and instead sat chained, feeling weaker and weaker by the end of every day.

The first day she had been strong enough to breathe fire and cradle it in her palms, but the moment Amon discovered her attempts to melt her bonds, he brought Chi-Blockers with him, and watched as they struck her arms, legs, and neck, blocking her bending even as she screamed and shot streams of white hot fire until she could produce nothing but tendrils of weak smoke, and then only air.

She had not dared bent again after that day, and instead suffered in silence.

The only other way she could rebel was not to eat and drink, thinking that sooner or later they would have to release her before she died of starvation, unless they tried to force feed her.

The familiar feeling of anger flamed up inside of her at the thought of Amon pinning her down and forcing her to eat, and she bit down hard onto the inside of her cheek to hold back the flames that crawled up her throat.

Amon would not let her die. He had said it himself many times, to her face and to his followers.

He would not let her become a Martyr.

"You wouldn't untie me even if I _did_ let you feed me." She growled, although she couldn't help but eye the bowl of ripe, red strawberries in his free hand hungrily.

Korra hated him.

She hated him down to the very depths of her soul, hated the way his eyes smouldered beneath the slits of his mask, hated his rich, almost entrancing voice, hated the way that he dared to sit not a even a foot away from her, offering her food as he held her captive.

Most of all she hated that smile painted onto his mask, that damned mocking _smile._

"Now why would you think that?"

She glared at him with eyes half closed from fatigue, the deep, circle shaped bruises scattered over her arms twinging as she struggled to move again. A wave of lightheadedness made her head tilt back, the room swimming in circles as she leaned against the post holding her in place, waiting for the dizziness to pass.

"Oh, I don't know." She snapped, feeling her chapped lips split painfully as she scowled at him. "Maybe because you kidnapped me and chained me to this post. Or maybe because of that night you ambushed me when I specifically told you to come _alone_."

He held a strawberry to her lips, the sweet aroma so tantalizing that she had to bite down on her tongue to keep from leaning forward and ripping it out of his hand with her teeth. Blood trickled down her bottom lip and flowed down her chin in a thin, red ribbon, dripping down silently to stain the pelt wrapped around her waist.

"Get your hand out of my face or I swear to the Spirits that I'll roast that poor excuse for a shard of pottery until nothing remains but a pile of _ashes._" She rasped thickly, blood smearing between her lips as she spoke.

He didn't move his hand, unfazed by her threat.

Korra took a deep, shuddering breath, heat gathering in her throat. Rivulets of sweat rolled down her neck and back as she tried to gather what strength she had left, intending to follow up the threat she had just made.

After all, what else did she have to lose?

"If you eat, I will untie you."

It sounded too good to be true. Tendrils of fire curled in Korra's throat, ready to be released the moment she willed them to.

She locked eyes with him, suspicion writhing deep in her bones.

She hadn't eaten anything or drank any water since Amon had ripped her from her bed days before, and although her rebellion was sweet, it was taking a tole on her body.

Her skin was cold and pale, and her throat was burning from the lack of water. If it hadn't been for The White Lotus's endurance training she might have given in the very first day. Korra was strong, stubborn, and was not easy to give into anything.

But even she had her limits.

Korra swallowed her fire.

"If you lie to me, I'm going to burn you alive." She muttered, her cheeks crimson with shame.

She opened her mouth, but before she could bring her body forward to grab the strawberry from his hand, Amon had already removed the stem, and pushed it delicately into her mouth with the tips of his fingers.

Korra looked away as she forced herself to chew slowly, the fruit like a cool elixir as she swallowed, the juice coating her throat, blessedly sating part of her raging thirst.

She realized she was crying when he fed her another strawberry, hot, ashamed tears rolling heavily down her cheeks. Helplessness writhed inside of her, paired with the horrifying shame from having her worst enemy feed her like a child.  
She could do nothing but cry silently, sagging against her bonds.

He wiped her tears almost gently from her cheeks with the pad of his thumb as he fed her another piece of fruit, the bowl now half empty.

She felt too defeated to bite him, to snap at him, to fulfill her threat of burning him clear to ashes. She could only sit with her head bent, with his gentle hand caressing her face so tenderly that it brought once forgotten heat back into her body, settling down into her core.

When the bowl was empty he set it aside, gazing intently at his captive, her head still bowed.

He took a length of red silk from the inside of his robes, and then a small, silver key. Korra's heart leaped into her throat at the sight of both objects, and she couldn't choke back the small, murmur of hope that passed her lips.

Until he leaned forward on his knees, the ends of the silk held taunt in each hand.

"What are you doing?" She whispered, unable to keep the tremor from her voice.

He leaned in, so close that she could smell him, temple incense combined with something sharp and spicy, the combination nearly dizzying.

"I am going to blindfold you." He answered calmly, eyes dancing with sparks in the dim light of the cell. "And I am going to untie you and place you somewhere much more comfortable than this cell."

She didn't dare fight him as he wrapped the silk around her eyes, knotting the ends quickly.

She felt his hands above her wrists, fingers, sliding beneath the cuffs as he unlocked her manacles, tracing over the welts and bruises there.

Upon instinct Korra tried to push herself to her feet but her knees buckled, her legs shaking and weak from days upon days of unuse.

Strong arms caught her around the waist before she hit the ground, and she bit back a protest as she was lifted into her enemy's arms.

He held her like her Father used to hold her when she was a smile child, after she'd fallen asleep in front of the fire, arms beneath the bends of her legs and beneath her arms.

Amon's arms were strong, and she could feel the muscles beneath his robes, toned and powerful.

They stopped her from thrashing in his grip, and she forced herself to go limp as she was carried.

There were no sounds save for Amon's heavy footfalls and the combined thud of their heart beats. It had to have been late, then, for no other Equalists to be walking around and jeering at the sight of the Avatar, blindfolded in their leader's arms.

Time was impossible for her to measure, and she lost count of Amon's footsteps and gave up on her plans for escape. She had had visions of burning him alive before, dreams of drowning him and beating him senseless before his followers, wonderful daydreams of her running through his hideout and escaping out into the sunlight.

Now, there were no more dreams.

There was only the approaching horror of her captivity.

He pressed her to his chest as one arm slid from beneath her, and Korra returned to reality at the familiar sound of a door opening, stiffening as Amon moved forward a few steps.

She heard the door click and lock shut and they were moving again, the scent of incense strong in the room.

Amon lowered her down slowly, and Korra forced herself not to tremble as she was set down onto something soft, fabric slick and cool beneath the bare skin of her arms.

She laid perfectly still, slightly curled into herself as she listened intently.

There was a rustling of clothing, sharper, metallic sounds, and the familiar clink of opening buckles.

Korra squeezed her eyes shut beneath her blindfold, wrists aching as she cradled them to her chest. If only she had a water source to heal her wounds with, to somehow get rid of the terror that was slowly starting to consume her.

The soft surface beneath her sank and dipped, and Korra flinched at the touch of his hands at her neck, fingers working nimbly at the knot of her blindfold.

She felt his warm breath on her face, the heat of his body so close she could feel it on her skin.

How long had he kept her there in that cell, alone, screaming, almost to the point of begging to be released? In that dark cell lit only when he visited her, the sounds of Equalists muffled behind the door, no way of measuring time.

No word for the outside world.

"I am not going to hurt you."

His voice was soft, husky, and Korra's eyes opened as the silk was lifted away from them.

Her heart sank when she saw only darkness, no source of light.

No possible chance of escape.

There was only Korra, and Amon.

Somehow, at that moment, she knew with a terrible chill and shiver that she wasn't going to be escaping on her own.

A hand rough with scars and callouses smoothed up her arm, leaving a trail of fire in its wake.

She felt for him In the dark, tips of her fingers finding the bare skin of his torso, lines of muscle strong beneath her hands.

"What if I want you to?"

Her whisper came suddenly from her, and she inhaled sharply as the pelt from her waist was tugged away, silk rustling as she was turned, pushed roughly onto her back as she felt him, heavy on top of her.

She had never felt such heat before, never felt such a burning _need_ for someone so devious, for someone who had taken her hopes and dreams, her very _purpose_ and smashed them with his bare hands.

"Then I would be glad to grant such a desire, if it happened to be asked of me. " He purred, his breath hot against her ear, lips brushing it.

His hand slipped beneath her shirt, tracing the curves of her breasts with feather light touches, and she moaned at the sensation, her head thrown back against the silken softness of the bed beneath them.

"_Please._"

Korra gasped the word, breathless and filled to the brim with shame and lust.

There would be no going back from this.

She would not escape unless he chose to release her.

And she would do everything in her power to be released.

"I will make you regret giving in to me." Amon whispered, chills running like lightning down her spine as she shuddered beneath him. "And I will make you revel in it."

Like his earlier persuasions, Korra knew that he did not lie to her.

But she smiled inside, and knew that she hadn't just made an empty threat before.

She would remember the cell.

She would remember his hands.

She would remember his whispers.

She would try and enjoy what she had asked for.

And she would turn that threat into a promise.


End file.
